Alejandro De Aza's baserunning blunder costly

Outfielder gets caught making 3rd out at 3rd base trying to advance on sacrifice fly and killing rally in 2nd

May 17, 2014|By Colleen Kane, Tribune reporter

Matt Dominguez tags Alejandro De Aza out at third base in the second inning. (Scott Halleran / Getty Images)

HOUSTON — White Sox manager Robin Ventura was blunt about Alejandro De Aza's early mistake on the bases Saturday during a 6-5 loss to the Astros.

De Aza was thrown out running from second to third after Moises Sierra's sacrifice fly to right field in the second inning. The out eventually proved to be costly in the one-run game as it halted the Sox's two-run burst against Astros pitcher Jarred Cosart and left a runner on base.

"That's just bad baserunning," Ventura said. "You can't ever make the third out at third base."

De Aza said before the game he is working to get out of a hitting funk that has dropped his batting average to .190 this season. He made a better contribution from the plate Saturday, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly.

"I'm trying to work on my swing and trying to find myself, trying to do my job and help the team win," De Aza said. "It's a thing I've been through every year, so I don't worry about it too much. I just work hard and try to get to the spot I need to be."

Abreu hurting: Sox rookie Jose Abreu's sore left ankle took a turn for the worse, and he likely will miss Sunday's series finale against the Astros, Ventura said.

Ventura removed the designated hitter after an awkward fifth-inning at-bat for fear that he might injure something else. Abreu limped down the line in his first two at-bats, both groundouts.

Abreu said Friday his ankle was feeling better, but he said it felt worse Saturday. After sitting near his locker with his head in his hands for a few minutes after the game, he said he understands the need for rest to get healthy, but he will wait for the doctors' word to decide how long that might be.

"I obviously don't feel good," Abreu said through a team interpreter. "Nobody with the desire to play would feel good about this. With God's favor, we'll do whatever is best. If that's taking some time off or whatever, we'll do it if we need to."

Follow-up: Ventura was pleased to hear about left-hander Chris Sale's solid rehab start in Triple-A Charlotte on Friday, but he said the Sox will wait to see how he felt in follow-up workouts Saturday and Sunday before announcing the next move.

"As of right now, you're just trying to make sure he feels good and everything's normal when he goes back in and does his workout the day after throwing," Ventura said.

Extra innings:Alexei Ramirez played in his 835th game at shortstop, tying Chico Carrasquel for the fourth-most games at shortstop in franchise history. … Sox outfielder Adam Eaton was not in the Triple-A Charlotte lineup after starting both games a doubleheader Friday. Ventura said there's a possibility he could play for the Sox on Sunday. That would be a day earlier than Ventura expected heading into the weekend series in Houston.